God is Calling You, Yes You

'Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’

“Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’

“Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.'
-a portion of a story as told by Jesus of Nazareth, 1st century
Luke 14:16-20

We've all been there. God calls us and we are busy, right smack in the middle of doing something and at just the worst possible time ever (even in the middle of a pandemic).

But is there ever a good time?

Whenever anybody's call comes, it will always be like that and like everyone else, we will have so many questions (why me Lord, why not him, why not her) and our brain will suddenly shift gears and we can think of so many excuses (I am a working student, I have a test, I have an interview, I have bills to pay, I have two jobs, I have a business to run, I have to work double shifts, I just bought this, I have this, I am that,...).

But don't you think God already knows about all that?

It is true, to those who are unwilling, excuses abound, to those who are willing, they can find a way.

The Call

We can read in the bible that when God called people up, they didn't go without first putting up a fight -- they pulled out their list of reasons (excuses).

Moses said, I am slow of speech and tongue. And then you would think that he was playing a game of 20 questions with God. (What about this, what if they say this, what if they do that, what about that, what then, what now, what, what, what).

Jonah ran away and I guess he really thought that he can get away from God.

Samuel heard the call three times but each time didn't realize it was the Lord. It was like, is that really you Lord? Then after the fourth call, he finally listened but laid awake all night, not knowing what to do.

Gideon's reasoning was, I am the weakest and the least. Not me Lord. And then he asked the Lord to show him a sign.

Jeremiah's excuse was, I am only a child. I am too young.

Abram's (Abraham's), I am an old man.

His wife, Sarai (Sarah), me too.

Simon (Peter) -- like many of us who find ourselves standing in the presence of God, fell on his knees and said, away from me Lord, I am a sinful man.

Now Saul (Paul), a self-confident man who thought of himself as one of the best there ever was -- got scared. He went blind and had no choice but to depend on the lowly help, those he considered inferior to him and those who he was persecuting. No let us not be like Saul. The higher they get, the farther (the harder) they fall.

Let us be more like Isaiah..

Here I Am Lord

Of all those called by God the prophet Isaiah responded with "here I am, send me."

Yet only after confessing his inadequacies, his sinfulness, his lying tongue. And then only after having been told that his sins have been forgiven.

Such is the blueprint of a Christian -- one who acknowledges he is a sinner and knows he has been forgiven, and has been reborn. And then becoming a Spirit filled follower of Christ.

Here is his call: Isaiah 6